Articles | Volume 17, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
11 Aug 2023
Research article |
| 11 Aug 2023
| 11 Aug 2023
Everest South Col Glacier did not thin during the period 1984–2017
Fanny Brun
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, INRAE, Grenoble INP, IGE, Grenoble, France
Owen King
School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK
School of Geography, Politics, and Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Marion Réveillet
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, INRAE, Grenoble INP, IGE, Grenoble, France
Charles Amory
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, INRAE, Grenoble INP, IGE, Grenoble, France
Anton Planchot
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, INRAE, Grenoble INP, IGE, Grenoble, France
Geosciences Department, École Normale Supérieure – PSL University, Paris, France
Etienne Berthier
LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France
Amaury Dehecq
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, INRAE, Grenoble INP, IGE, Grenoble, France
Tobias Bolch
School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK
Institute of Geodesy, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
Kévin Fourteau
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, CNRM, Centre d’Études de la Neige, Grenoble, France
Julien Brondex
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, CNRM, Centre d’Études de la Neige, Grenoble, France
Marie Dumont
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Université de Toulouse, Météo-France, CNRS, CNRM, Centre d’Études de la Neige, Grenoble, France
Christoph Mayer
Geodesy and Glaciology, Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Munich, Germany
Silvan Leinss
GAMMA Remote Sensing AG, 3073 Gümligen, Switzerland
Romain Hugonnet
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Patrick Wagnon
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, INRAE, Grenoble INP, IGE, Grenoble, France
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Cited
8 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Modelling cold firn evolution at Colle Gnifetti, Swiss/Italian Alps M. Gastaldello et al. 10.5194/tc-19-2983-2025
- A novel numerical implementation for the surface energy budget of melting snowpacks and glaciers K. Fourteau et al. 10.5194/gmd-17-1903-2024
- Surface energy and mass balance of Mera Glacier (Nepal, Central Himalaya) and their sensitivity to temperature and precipitation A. Khadka et al. 10.1017/jog.2024.42
- Brief communication: Accurate and autonomous snow water equivalent measurements using a cosmic ray sensor on a Himalayan glacier N. Pokhrel et al. 10.5194/tc-18-5913-2024
- Surface energy balance closure over melting snow and ice from in situ measurements on the Greenland ice sheet M. van Tiggelen et al. 10.1017/jog.2024.68
- Transitioning from equilibrium of glacier mass balance in the Upper Bhagirathi Valley, Central Himalaya S. Halder et al. 10.1016/j.rines.2025.100100
- Land surface modeling informed by earth observation data: toward understanding blue–green–white water fluxes in High Mountain Asia P. Buri et al. 10.1080/10095020.2024.2330546
- Brief communication: How deep is the snow on Mount Everest? W. Yang et al. 10.5194/tc-17-2625-2023
6 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Modelling cold firn evolution at Colle Gnifetti, Swiss/Italian Alps M. Gastaldello et al. 10.5194/tc-19-2983-2025
- A novel numerical implementation for the surface energy budget of melting snowpacks and glaciers K. Fourteau et al. 10.5194/gmd-17-1903-2024
- Surface energy and mass balance of Mera Glacier (Nepal, Central Himalaya) and their sensitivity to temperature and precipitation A. Khadka et al. 10.1017/jog.2024.42
- Brief communication: Accurate and autonomous snow water equivalent measurements using a cosmic ray sensor on a Himalayan glacier N. Pokhrel et al. 10.5194/tc-18-5913-2024
- Surface energy balance closure over melting snow and ice from in situ measurements on the Greenland ice sheet M. van Tiggelen et al. 10.1017/jog.2024.68
- Transitioning from equilibrium of glacier mass balance in the Upper Bhagirathi Valley, Central Himalaya S. Halder et al. 10.1016/j.rines.2025.100100
2 citations as recorded by crossref.
Latest update: 11 Sep 2025
Short summary
The South Col Glacier is a small body of ice and snow located on the southern ridge of Mt. Everest. A recent study proposed that South Col Glacier is rapidly losing mass. In this study, we examined the glacier thickness change for the period 1984–2017 and found no thickness change. To reconcile these results, we investigate wind erosion and surface energy and mass balance and find that melt is unlikely a dominant process, contrary to previous findings.
The South Col Glacier is a small body of ice and snow located on the southern ridge of Mt....
